Unstoppable | The Vampire Diaries

119. Now You See Me

By the time Damon found Riley and Stefan (in Marty's body), they were both asleep in the car. After quickly checking that Marty hadn't frozen to death, he looked at Riley. In the years that he'd been gone, she'd barely changed. He'd always know that neither three years nor sixty would change the way he felt about her, but he was still shocked to discover how strong the feelings were. Staring into her sleeping face, after years of thinking that he'd never see her again, he loved her more than he ever had before.

When Riley finally opened her eyes, she found that it was daytime, there was no snow on the ground, and the car was moving. Disorientated, she squinted at the driver.

"Damon?!" she asked, shocked. After three years, she assumed that she'd never see him again, and she'd gotten used to the idea. As much as she hated it. "Am I going crazy, or is it really you?"

He smirked, not taking his eyes off the road. "It's been a long time, Fletch."

"Feels like a lifetime," she commented, looking out of the window so that he wouldn't catch her staring at him. From what she could tell, they definitely weren't in Arkansas anymore. "Where are we?"

The smirk didn't leave his face as he answered. "We are on our way to Memphis to track down Stefan's body. Doughnut?"

Riley sat up straighter and took the box from his outstretched hand, immediately biting into the sugary treat, unable to contain the happy moan that escaped her lips. She couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten.

"How's Stefan?" she asked, grabbing a second doughnut even though she hadn't finished the first.

"He's fine," Damon responded. "And by 'fine', I mean he ate a bunch of doughnuts, puked blood all over the backseat of your car and then fell asleep."

"Perfect," Riley said sarcastically. Then she looked around, realizing something. "Hey, where is my car?"

Damon kept his eyes on the road, fighting the urge to look at her. "It's being cleaned and driven to a garage in Memphis until you can pick it up," he informed her.

"Oh," she responded, surprised. "Thanks."

They rode in silence for a few minutes that seemed to stretch into hours. Every so often, she snuck glances at him. He looked exactly the same as the last time they'd been together. Not that this was surprising, but she was surprised by how it made her feel.

She felt happy. Happier than she had in a long time.

"So..." Damon said finally. "Am I gonna be the first one to mention... the last time we saw each other?"

Riley cleared her throat. "You mean when I tried to talk you out of abandoning us, and then I didn't see you again for three years, when you brought a ton of crap to my brother-in-law's door? Do you really want to bring that up when your brother's human body is dying?"

Damon shrugged, trying not to let his guilt show. "Actually I didn't want to talk about it at all, but I figured that you should know what I'm apologizing for."

"It's way too late for an apology," Riley said sharply. "And if you're expecting your apology to come with automatic forgiveness, don't bother."

Suddenly, there was a groan from the backseat, and then the sound of retching filled the car.

"Stefan's awake," Riley announced unnecessarily, turning around to look at him. "And... puking blood again. Should we be worried about that?"

"Definitely," Damon responded under his breath, taking his phone out of his pocket. "But it's fine. We'll just take him to the hospital."